Deductive Attractions
by pyr0technic
Summary: Matchmaking between members of the Classics Club would be interesting, indeed. From denial to acceptance to confession to dating, it can't be that simple. Bonus: "It's not that I like you - okay, I like you - no, I actually have an enormous crush on you, but that's beside the point!"
1. Chapter 1

**deductive attractions**

**.x.**

_stage zero-one._

Sunlight streamed in through the windows of the room of the Classics Club, illuminating the presence of the four familiar members. Eru was silently rereading an old _Hyouka _issue, seemingly enjoying herself as she swung her legs back and forth childishly. Satoshi and Mayaka sat one one side, where they tutored one another with school subjects, and Hotarou sat across from Eru, with an ever-present book in his hands._  
_

Hotarou quite liked it. He mused that it would be nice if _all _the afternoons at the Classics Club with his friends could be this peaceful, everyone silently working on their own activities. Of course, by everyone, he mainly meant Eru -

"Oreki-saaaan!"

He had thought too soon.

"I'm reading," Houtarou responded, peridot orbs trained carefully on his book.

"But it's important!" Eru insisted from her seat across the table, eyes expectantly glued to him.

"I'm reading."

"I'm _curious_!"

"I'm reading."

Eru huffed impatiently, arms crossed and lips in a pout. Houtarou would have found it adorable if he had bothered to look, which he purposefully hadn't(for that reason). There was just something about those purple eyes of hers that he just couldn't say _no _to - at least, that's what he told himself.

Satoshi looked up momentarily at their exchange with an amused grin before Mayaka whacked him on the head and scolded him to focus.

"What are you reading, Oreki-san?" Eru decided on a different approach and got up to stand behind Houtarou, which visibly tensed the boy.

"And Then There Were None. Why?" Houtarou knew _why_; Eru was obviously trying to get his attention. Nonetheless, the question threw the other girl off(much to his satisfaction). Rarely was Houtarou allowed the upper handle in their relationship.

"_Christie_, huh? I thought that was more Mayaka-chan's thing," Eru commented, bending in closer beside Hotarou's head.

Satoshi watched out of the corner of his eyes, noting the way Houtarou's face became redder and his movements stiffer. A chuckle was barely suppressed.

"What is it, Chitanda?" Houtarou heaved a sigh of defeat and spun around to face her. He bumped noses with her having not been aware of her proximity, enticing innocent laughter from Eru as she apologized, while Houtarou could only avert his eyes in embarrassment. (Satoshi would have him _dead_ for this.)

Just another day where Houtarou proved to everyone around him that he had absolutely _no _resolve against Chitanda Eru. Fantastic.

Oh, well. What exactly were they trying to prove by Houtarou's giving in to Eru, anyway? It's not like it meant anything. The girl was just... really persistent.

Yeah.

"I think we'd best discuss it alone," Eru finally said after some careful contemplation.

Houtarou raised an eyebrow but nodded, in return stowing his things away in his backpack in preparation to leave.

"Oi! Heading out, Houtarou?" Satoshi, glad to have an excuse to escape Mayaka's torture, pulled back from the books and grinned at the other boy.

"Yeah... if you don't mind, can you go home with Ibara today?" Houtarou shrugged on the backpack. He hastily added, "Chitanda needs to discuss something privately, is all."

Satoshi grinned again, careful not to let his amusement show. (Houtarou would have _him_ dead.) "I don't mind at all. Shall we, Mayaka?"

"Ugh," Mayaka responded in aggravation, head falling to the table.

That's probably about as close to a 'yes' he would get, thought Satoshi.

Houtarou and Eru bid a hasty farewell before rushing outside into the streets to begin the journey home.

There was a tentative aura radiating from Eru, and Houtarou had a bad feeling about it.

"Anytime you're ready," Houtarou said dryly, breaking the silence. They would have to make it quick since they lived in opposite directions once they got to the intersection. Of course, with Eru, he doubted that it would actually end up happening.

Nothing she was _curious _about ever ended up Houtarou getting away scott free, anyway. He sighed.

Eru seemed to think about what she was going to say for a while, and a look of confidence settled on her face as she finally seemed to decide on something. "Hm... what do you think of _love_?"

Houtarou was visibly shaken as he nearly tripped over air on his next step. "Wh...What? Is _this_ what you're so 'curious' about, Chitanda?" Houtarou demanded, a bit annoyed at the topic.

"Well, think of it as a leading question." She smiled innocuously.

Houtarou took a breath and presented a calm facade. "I don't have any thoughts on it in particular."

There.

Eru pressed on, "Do you think it's possible to tell when people love each other?"

Houtarou admittedly was growing uncomfortable, but forced himself to ponder the topic and find a response that would satisfy Eru. "Maybe not love, but attraction, I suppose."

"Really?" Eru beamed, encouraged by his answer.

So much for Houtarou's answer _calming _her curiosity.

Dare Houtarou ask it... "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, I'm beginning to think that someone we know is _attracted_ to someone!"

Okay, now this was just getting ridiculously uncomfortable. Houtarou, convinced that the climate had just elevated several degrees begin pulling at his collar. _Surely _she couldn't be talking about... him?

Because he wasn't attracted to _anyone_. Nope, not him. Even if he was, it wasn't like Eru could possibly tell. Houtarou wouldn't be so obvious. Would he?

Houtarou tried to keep his mouth shut, but even his own curiousity betrayed him as he blurted out, "Who?"

They reached the intersection.

Whether to be relieved that he was free from Eru's clutches, or disappointed because he wouldn't hear the answer - he didn't know.

"Ne, Oreki-san... would you mind discussing this with me some more at my house?"

There were so many things wrong with that question Houtarou didn't know where to begin. "We have homework, it's a school night, Chitanda..."

"We can do homework together, and I'm sure you could spare an hour. What do you say?"

Bright amethyst eyes and a sunshine grin, two things from the girl that Houtarou could never resist. "Fine..."

Then he added, "But it has to be at my place."

-x-

"Welcome back, Houtarou!" greeted a chipper voice from inside the Oreki household. Tomoe waved from inside the kitchen, pausing when she noticed his company.

"Girlfriend, hmm?" Tomoe questioned curiously as she went to greet Houtarou's special guest.

"We're here to do homework, aneki," Houtarou muttered crossly, ignoring the merry chuckle he received from the older girl in response.

"I hope you don't mind, Oreki-san." Eru bowed respectfully, then adding, "I'm a classmate of Houtarou's, Chitanda Eru."

"Not at all. If you need anything, ask, ne?" Tomoe smiled with a hint of mischief, then stalked off to leave the duo to it.

"Okay, then." Houtarou sat down immediately on the living room couch, already emotionally and physically exhausted. He would've dozed off to sleep right away, if it weren't for ...

"Oreki-san! Don't fall asleep!" Eru shook the boy feverently until he managed to muster a semi-concious state. She smiled. "Good."

After Eru was seated next to him, he pulled out his homework and begin writing. "Chitanda, what's the date?"

"The second."

This silence persisted for a few more moments until Houtarou finally decided to get down to it. "So, about our earlier topic... I'm assuming you were talking about Ibara?"

She gasped in shock and raised a hand to her mouth. "How did you know?"

"Well, it has to be someone we both mutually know if you were going to come to me, and I am already aware of Ibara's affections."

Eru nodded, obviously impressed. "Do you think that her and Fukube-san may like each other?"

"Perhaps," he answered. Houtarou was growing exasperated with the topic for some reason, and tried to round of the conversation topic.

"How do you know?"

"Well, I already know for a fact Mayaka liked him during middle school, so she may still feel the same way. Satoshi, I'm not sure, however... he shows signs of liking her and not liking her."

Eru nodded, hanging on to every word. "Do you think maybe we could... _set them up_?"

Houtarou sighed again, aggravated. "It's not our business..."

"But they are our friends!" Eru insisted, turning herself towards him.

"Which is exactly why we _should not_ meddle, Chitanda." Houtarou sighed again. Explaining and obscenely simply concept would only ever be a problem for one Chitanda Eru.

"I think we would be _helping_ them..." Eru said hopefully, offering a small smile. Houtarou didn't budge. "_Please_, Oreki-san?

Houtarou closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowed, trying his best to retain his resolve. If anything, he _needed _it now. He had to prove himself he wouldn't resort to such foolishness _just _because Chitanda Eru asked him to.

Eru's eyes grew brighter and she wrapped her hands around one of his pleadingly, and he found himself inwardly groaning. _Not the hand-holding, anything but that... _

Eventually, the embarrassment got to him and he erupted with, "Alright!" Eru released her hold and gave a wide mile of satisfaction, while Houtarou slumped in defeat, yet again.

It wasn't Houtarou's fault he wasn't too prone to proximity or intimacy of any kind, especially with _females_... ah, the woes of a prepubescent boy.

"So, how do we begin?" Eru asked.

They started by pushing aside their homework and getting out a fresh sheet of paper, titled '_Operation SatoMaya: Stage 1; Pulling them out of denial.'_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Well, I decided to go ahead on update this fic quickly (for me, anyway) because of the lovely reviews I've gotten! Thanks for all the follows and favorites as well! It's really the main fuel behind me harvesting what little creative energy I have in order to continue this fic, haha.

_Sorry for the shortness, but this is the only way it will flow better..._ I _promise_ future chapters will be longer! The purpose of this fic is to show exactly how their feelings build and develop and how it affects their relationship. :3 In other words, you'll get more SatoMaya HoutaEru goodness in the future! Just hang with me. I'm trying to establish a mood and setting is all. :)

Because basically, Mayaka and Satoshi have a lot of meat behind their relationship that will undoubtedly affect their growing feelings, and HoutaEru start off light and fluffy and cute - but things start to get more complicated, like SatoMaya, and they both aren't prepared.

Woops, I kinda gave stuff away. XD Oh well, feel free to ignore that rant. This has been a long AN!

Oh also, feel free to point out mistakes and inaccuracies!

Thanks a bunch for the reviews, honestly! I really appreciate it and it's the reason I'm updating ;)

This chapter shall be dedicated to the three of you lovelies :)

OH, um, **Warning**: There will be swearing in this. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but this story was rated T for a reason :P They're teenagers, ya know...they've gotta vent their frustrations somehow :P

* * *

**deductive attractions**

**.x.**

_stage zero-two._

"Say, Mayaka... why do you think those two left so early?"

Mayaka only rolled her eyes, not paying the question any heed as the two remaining Classics Club members continued packing up their belongings to head out.

"I am not going to dignify that with an answer," she said crossly, swinging her bag over her shoulder.

Satoshi chuckled at her snappy mood. She really was funny when she was mad. "Why not?"

"Because!" Mayaka looked around the room for any object that could hit Satoshi and cause medium damage, but sighed when she realized there was no such hing. "Oreki just told us, he wanted to talk to Chi-chan alone."

Satoshi pondered this as he held open the door for her to walk out. "And you think that's the real reason?"

"Well, why not?" Mayaka asked, eyebrows raised at the peculiar question.

"If you haven't figured it out yourself, it's no use explaining," Satoshi said, feigning disinterest as he begin examining nails.

Predictably, it struck a nerve with the brunette and she smacked the hand away, then again for good measure. "What are you talking about?"

Satoshi just smiled and continued walking, but to Mayaka he looked smug and _she hated smug._

"You're not insinuating anything about _them_, are you?" As soon as the thought hit her, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Of course I am."

Mayaka scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Chi-chan would never be as stupid as to fall for him!"

Satoshi only grinned wider. "And the pot calls the kettle black..."

Mayaka's eyes widened at the comment. "You jerk!"

After a kick in the shin and a positively malicious glare, she stalked off ahead, intent on ignoring him. Unknowingly to her, however, Satoshi only looked after her with a warm, happy gaze.

Sure, Satoshi probably pushed her there with that one. It's not like he could _help_ it, he liked her! That was a secret that he had probably been keeping for too long, but it was for the best.

Swallowing down the bitter thoughts that begin to form, Satoshi jogged ahead to catch up with the short-fused brunette. "Sorry, Mayaka-chan...you know I was kidding!"

Mayaka stopped for a second, giving him an incredulous look. He makes a blow to her pride that big and expects an apology to make things better? With a bemused smile, she wondered why she liked the dimwit so much when he was the complete opposite of boyfriend material.

"So what was it we were talking about?" Satoshi asked with a lenient smile.

Mayaka, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, replied, "Oreki and Chi-chan's nonexistent relationship."

Satoshi opened his mouth to object before realizing that the other girl _did_ have a point. "Well... why don't we try making it happen, then?"

This stopped Mayaka in her tracks, and she whirled around with a wide-eyed look. "That idea makes... _no freaking sense_!"

"Think about it for a second, Mayaka!" Satoshi insisted, struggling to catch up with Mayaka's brisk pace. "Hotarou can't say _no_ to her, Chitanda-san is always intimate with him..."

"Hmm," Mayaka said. She seemed to contemplate it, and then gave him a perplexed look. "Perhaps you're right, there."

"I knew you would see things my way." Satoshi grinned.

Mayaka just sighed wearily. "So how you propose we go about this?"

"Easy, we've got to make a plan!"

"...A plan consisting of?"

"Well..."

Satoshi spotted a cafe not far from where they were walking, and he promptly grabbed Mayaka's wrist and pulled her inside.

"Y-Ya? What are you doing?" Mayaka protested as she was dragged along. Eventually, the duo stopped at a table and Satoshi pushed her inside of a booth, finally following to sit beside her himself.

"I figured we could discuss this over drinks or something," Satoshi said nonchalantly as he called for a menu.

Mayaka rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. "Well, you might as well set on the other side of the booth."

He raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Mayaka seemed to color before responding, "Well it's too close... and it looks weird with the other side just empty like that..."

"But we need to sit like this!"

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

_That_ threw Mayaka off, and she stuttered, "W-Why?"

Satoshi, smirking as if he knew it was coming, whipped out a sheet of paper from his backpack, then declaring, "So we can make the plan together!"

Mayaka just stared. "You're a bastard, you know that?"

"Love you too, Maya-chan."

After a few more kicks and punches thrown the poor brunette boy's way, they ordered their drinks and made small talk regarding the brilliant set-up plan.

"Ugh, this is impossible..." Mayaka moaned, taking a solemn sip of her lemonade.

"Neither of them will ever take the initiative," Satoshi agreed, dropping his head to his hands.

Mayaka's eyes suddenly seemed to light up. "You know, I remember from my mangas, this one time, to get a couple together, they made them go on alphabet themed dates!"

Before Satoshi could make a dig at Mayaka's manga-engrossed mind, he was taken with the idea. "A for...?"

"Apple picking!" Mayaka cheered while giggling.

"Now there's only one problem: getting them to go," Satoshi pointed out. He scanned over the sheet of paper:

Operation _HoutaEru_: Taking the initiative

- alphabet themed dates:

**a** for apple picking

**b** for bowling

He had more ideas on his mind, but he figured they'd best figure that out later after getting the current dilemma solved.

"I guess we could go with them," Mayaka suggested.

Satoshi stared, seemingly in deep thought. "But then it would just be like a normal group outing with the four of us..."

Mayaka continued, "It could be a double date."

He glanced up at her, eyes widened.

She hastily continued, "I mean, it doesn't have to be real for us - we'll just... for the sake of those two being alone, I guess." Mayaka cursed inwardly at another one of her infamous slip-ups and hoped to die if she did it again.

"That's fine," Satoshi said in a blank tone.

Mayaka tried to read him, but his face was emotionless - and usually that was when he had something to hide.

True to Mayaka's speculation - Satoshi was reeling over with sudden emotions that came one after another - surprise, ecstasy, regret, and now all of them mixed with once. To go on a _date_ with Mayaka - it would most definitely be a dream come true. But then, they would be crossing that boundary he himself had set so firmly - he wouldn't be able to control his feelings. He had done so well so far to keep it hidden, and what if everything came bursting out?

What would happen then?

"Satoshi..."

Satoshi looked up in surprised to see Mayaka call him by his first name.

"I understand why you would feel uncomfortable. You don't have to," Mayaka said, trying to seem nonchalant as she sipped away at her drink.

Unfortunately, her _and_ Satoshi knew better.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. I'd be glad to spend time with you!" He grinned but the twinkle was devoid from his eyes.

Mayaka noted this and sighed. She convinced herself this was for her _friends, _not her silly chance to go indulge in something she wanted - but that was exactly what it was, wasn't it?

She would be stuck in this unrequited love forever.

"I have to go." Mayaka rummaged through her purse for money, slapped a bill on the table and left swiftly through the doors, trying to restrain her impulse to look back.

She glanced behind, and he wasn't looking.

He glanced up, and she wasn't looking.

They both sighed and felt the dreariness overwhelm them.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Where did all you reviewers ago!? I appreciate the support anyway, because the traffic graphs on this aren't looking TOO bad, heheheh :D

But anyways, I can't resist updating because THIS IS GOING TO BE SUCH A FUN FIC YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

ALSO THIS CHAPTER IS OVER 2000 WORDS, good enough. If you **_REVIEW_**, next time I'll make it 3000+~~

Ahem, let's begin, then. Also, chapter dedicated to **Naduu** and **six-sides-of-the-dice** for their loyal reviews! :D

**WARNING:** _super fluffity fluff up ahead. only read if you are prepared. you might just die._

* * *

**deductive attractions  
****.x.  
**_stage one-one._

Houtarou _hated_ his alarm clock.

He hated it for one obvious reason - it got in the way of his precious sleep. Sleep was something very important to him - it was the one time of the day he could rest without any disturbances, without any annoying teachers trying to wake you up, or _friends _for that matter. Namely, Chitanda Eru. (But you knew that, didn't you?)

He sighed and hit the button, sitting up groggily. Lately, sleep had been a problem even _witho__ut_ the blasted alarm clock. As if dealing with the purple-eyed girl wasn't enough during day - he now had issues with her invading his mind during _night_.

The dreams that centered around her with tiresome, irritating, _pleasureable__ -_

_What?_

Hotarou shook his head, trying to dispel his thoughts, alarmed at where they were leading him.

He did _not_ need to be thinking of that girl again first thing in the morning - especially when it had been a problem all of last night, anyway.

"I see you're awake!" Tomoe's voice echoed from the living room.

"Huh?" He opened his eyes a bit more at the voice. If she was still here, then that meant it was the weekend -

_The weekend?_

Houtarou frowned and turned to the alarm clock. "Why did you go off?"

"Because I set it!" the spunky brunette said on cue, grinning mischievously at him.

"Why, aneki?" Houtarou asked in despair, sinking down to the bed again.

"One of your friends wanted to meet up or something. Satoshi, I believe? He phoned me last night when you were already asleep," Tomoe explained. Then, her eyes brightened. "Get going!"

She laughed as she watched her little brother heave himself out of bed as if he was about to head off to a funeral. It was a wonder the two were related, with her bubbling over with energy and him... not having it at all.

A while later, Houtarou emerged from the bathroom clean and dressed. He would look rather fresh if it weren't for the ever-present glazed over look in his eyes.

Tomoe voiced this, only to ignored by Houtarou who was busy grouchily pouring himself a breakfast of cereal and milk.

"It's going to be strange when you finally change..." Tomoe said, a thoughtful gaze trained on her brother.

"Change?" Houtarou asked around a mouthful of Cheerios.

"Nothing you need to worry about, otouto," Tomoe chuckled.

_Aneki, being as mysterious as ever_, Houtarou thought while rolling his eyes.

"Have fun, then, I'm heading out for the day." Tomoe grabbed all of her things in a flurry of coats and purses, and only delivered a small salute and twinkle of the eye before heading off.

The twinkle of the eye was normal, but Houtarou knew better than to doubt his sister.

_It's not like Satoshi to call me over this early..._

-x-

"Good morning!" Satoshi greeted excitedly as he opened the door to Houtarou.

"Morning." Houtarou, admittedly content to be with his friend lightened up and stepped inside.

Satoshi grinned darkly to himself. _Oh, he **so** has it_ coming...

"So, are you gonna explain anything?" Houtarou questioned, carefully examining his surroundings, inspecting for anything out of the ordinary. He found nothing of the sort and frowned to himself.

"Just follow me!"

Satoshi led him into the kitchen where none other than their two closest female classmates resided (Eru and Mayaka), making idle conversation with each other.

Houtarou was shocked, but tried to play it down with a semi-questioning look.

"We're going out today!" Satoshi said, thrusting his arms into the air for dramatic effect. He beamed and looked to the three of them, as if revealing the universe's most darkest secret.

"Where? We don't usually do this..." Houtarou's deductive mind immediately begin churning, and Satoshi noticed the familiar glint in his friend's eyes.

To quickly cover up the suspicion, he said, "A family friend of mine owns an apple farm and invited me to go apple picking, so I figured I'd bring you guys along as well," he explained.

_Ah, fair enough._ Houtarou's curiosity was calmed and he took to sit down with the rest of his friends.

Satoshi did a little mental cheer, because as a database, it wasn't really his strong suit to battle scarily amazing deductive minds like Houtarou's. However, it seemed he had just won around one. _Well, even though it **is** true that our family friend has been telling us to come over for a_ while...

Shaking those thoughts, Satoshi further explained, "We've had a car arranged to pick us up around noon, so feel free to entertain yourselves here until it comes."

With those words, the club begin gaming activities such as Scrabble, Snakes & Ladders, and other various board games. They were all enjoying themselves rather well, if only for the closeness that already bonded them together and the obvious contrasting chemistry between their personalities.

"I win again!" Eru cheered.

"That's the third time," Satoshi sulked, rather dejected.

Beside him, Mayaka snickered. "Don't be jealous, Fuku-chan."

The banter persisted for a few more moments until Satoshi suddenly stood up.

"Oi, Mayaka-chan! I have something of yours that I've been meaning to return to you," Satoshi said, giving her a pressing look. Before Mayaka could open her mouth to question, Satoshi grabbed her wrist and hauled her off towards the stairs.

This left Houtatou and Eru to themselves, which was always a _blast_ for Houtarou.

"That's interesting," Eru commented as she cleaned up after their latest game of BS.

"What is?" Houtarou looked up confusedly. For once, he was lost on something. Perhaps romance wasn't his strong suit, after all.

"Why would something of Makaya-chan's be in Fukube-san's room?" Eru hypothetically asked, grinning with promise.

Houtarou, however, almost spluttered at the implied meaning behind her words. He recovered quickly, however, murmuring, "He probably borrowed something of hers and took it home by accident..."

Eru nodded without missing a beat. "That's true, Mayaka-chan usually comes home with me."

"But you brought up a valid point," Houtarou suddenly said, surprising Eru with the sudden change of tune.

"I did?" Eru beamed.

Houtarou observed her with amusement. It didn't take much to make her happy, did it? _She's energy-saving in that one way..._

"Yes, because if he had something in his room, he could have easily brought it down himself. Why take Ibara with him?" Houtarou leaned back in his chair, feeling bit proud himself after seeing Eru's obviously impressed smile.

"That makes sense!" Eru grinned wider and did a litte cheer at the revelation.

_Today marks the day one Oreki Houtarou quenches the mighty curiosity of Chit -_

"But now I'm curious!"

Houtarou sighed and slumped back into the chair. _Why does that always happen?_

And dare he ask, "About what?"

Eru leaned forward with the usual determined look on her face. "What could those two be doing up there?"

Houtarou blinked. "I haven't a clue."

"Why don't we go check it out?" Eru suggested brightly, springing up from her chair in excitement.

Just the _idea_ seemed to make Houtarou even more exhausted. "That's not very polite, Chitanda... we're guests here, if you didn't notice."

Chitanda just frowned and titled her head. "We've done this before to solve mysteries!"

Ah, logic. The one thing not even Houtarou could battle.

"Fine," he said hastily.

He had learned his lesson with arguing over not doing something with Eru: _Don't_.

So, the duo quietly and meticulously made their way up the staircase leading to the rooms upstairs, all the while awkwardly bumping into each other and murmuring hasty, even more awkward apologies while doing so.

"Which room is Fukube-san's?"

"The room next to the closet on the right."

As the two tiptoed near the destination, a thought struck Houtarou.

"Chitanda, if we're supposed to get them together, why interrupt their time alone?"

Eru froze in place, unable to think of an answer. She settled with, "Shh!"

Rolling his eyes, Houtarou complied unwillingly, if only for the sake that they shouldn't get caught doing something like what they were doing. The two stopped and found that the door was open just a tiny crack - good enough to catch a small glimpse of what was going on.

Eru poised herself on the bottom, and Houtarou stood hovering over her. From what they could see - Mayaka and Satoshi were on his bed, discussing something over a notebook.

"I still think _car ride_ is a good idea, Fuku-chan!"

"No, that's what we do next time. A _drive_. Find something else."

"Coney Island?"

"Way too expensive."

A kick and a cry of pain was heard.

Houtarou and Eru exchanged dubious glances. From what they had heard - they had gathered, well - absolutely nothing. None of it made any sense. They were planning on going somewhere? The two of them?

"Oh, I've got it! _Camping_!"

Simultaneous cheers and a high five were heard, and Houtarou more than ever was trying to connect the dots. What was the missing link, here?

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to ponder that. He had been leaning closer to the door in an attempt to catch their words more closely, and in the process lost his footing and crashed down on Eru, who was kneeling beneath him.

Inside the room, Mayaka and Satoshi exchanged looks. What was that noise?

Before Houtarou could even think to be embarrassed, one thought sprung to mind: If they were caught now, it would be all over.

Quickly pulling himself out of the tangle of limbs - he kept one hand on Eru's shoulder and whisked her into the closet next to them, keeping the door closed to shut. Eru, too surprised, didn't utter a word.

A moment of silence passed, and soon enough it became obvious Satoshi and Mayaka weren't going to come out any time soon.

_Now_ Houtarou had the chance to be embarrassed. _What kind of stupid idea was that? Now we're stuck here, and when they do come out, we need an excuse as to why we were upstairs._

Houtarou was so busy mentally scolding himself he didn't notice Eru shifting this way and that uncomfortably.

Then, with a start - they both realized the position they were in.

The closet was dark, so they couldn't see anything - they had to rely on touch and feel. Three fourths of the closet floor were covered in shoe boxes, rolled up rugs, and vacuum cleaners. Coats and scarves hung above their heads. All in all, it was extremely crowded, and their proximity... was proximate.

Houtarou mentally kicked himself as he realized his hand had somehow ended up on the other girl's waist and pulled it away so quickly he was lucky not to get whiplash.

Trying to ignore the lurch in his stomach, he managed to mumble a quiet apology, "Sorry."

"D-Don't worry about it," Eru replied, a tad too quickly.

Houtarou tried to back away has much as possible, but his back was already against the wall and his long legs were tough to keep folded in the current position, but if he unfolded them any more he would be touching Eru.

Eru herself was a little uncomfortable pushed up against the wall in front of her, and Hotarou's feet were beginning to irritate her back. Swallowing her nervousness, she decided to try out an idea.

"O...Oreki-san, d-do you mind coming forward just a little bit? I'm a little uncomfortable."

Houtarou felt the same lurch in his stomach _again_ - _Why the hell is that happening?_ - but complied, anyway.

"Now fold your legs a little back."

He did, and Eru pushed back away from the front wall, and in the gap between Houtarou's legs. She had scooted back a little further than intended, and could now feel Houtarou's chest rising and falling against her back.

Immediately, Houtarou's heartbeat skyrocketed.

_Wh-What's going on?_

Similarly, Eru felt the already stuffy room elevate several hundred degrees.

Houtarou had gotten this panicky, dizzy feeling before - but never had it been _this_ bad. He felt the blood rush to his face and his head get dizzy, and the occasional brushes of skin of Eru's arms against his set off electric shocks.

Eru felt herself breathe faster and faster, and with embarrassment tried to cover it up - but the more she concentrated on the situation, the worse the feeling got.

It wasn't all that bad, but she wasn't sure if it was all that good either. She wanted _more_ - she wanted his long, warm arms to be wrapped around her, she wanted more of that comforting feeling...

_No!_

Right at that moment, they heard the creaking of the stairs - indicating that Satoshi and Mayaka had gone down.

The two burst out of the closet, panting for air - only because it was stuffy in there.

Right.

Barely able to look at each other, the two followed downstairs and walked into the kitchen, where the other two kids were.

"You guys were upstairs? We weren't gone for that long." Satoshi and Mayaka looked at the duo in confusion.

Houtarou was still too flustered and panicky from the aftereffects of _that_ experience, and didn't think to turn the tables on them and ask what _they_ were doing for that long. Instead, "We were looking for you guys upstairs... we just... Eru got curious, and we looked around in the other rooms. Sorry."

Satoshi could see _right_ through that excuse (_He called her Eru?_) - but Mayaka seemed to be fooled."Oh, okay."

Houtarou turned to Eru for help, but she was strangely silent, still reeling with emotions.

Finally beginning to calm down himself, Houtarou asked, "What were _you_ two doing in that room alone for so long?"

Mayaka blushed and glowered at the same time. "Nothing like what _you're_ thinking, idiot!"

Satoshi just laughed nervously, glancing around the room."Look! Ride's here!"

All kids were rather relieved at the distraction and went to gather their things before going outside to climb inside the truck that had stopped outside of the house.

While Houtarou was putting a water bottle in his backpack, Satoshi bounded up next to him with a grin. "What _really_ happened, Houtarou?"

Houtarou noticably reddened but shot back as dryly as he could, "And what _really_ happened with you two?" Houtarou raised his eyebrows at him and then left, leaving him to ponder that.

Satoshi gulped at the memory, but laughed at Houtarou's embarrassment.

_And so the game begins._

He hopped on to the truck, calling the middle seats with Mayaka, leaving the other two in the back.

Houtarou similarly thought, as he kept his gaze on the couple in front of him, _Stage One is coming along nicely, taking in Satoshi's reaction to my comment at least. _

A quick exchange of glances with Eru proved that they were thinking the same thing, and she begin to laugh happily. But soon enough, they were both reminded of the previous events and quickly went back to feeling awkward and decided to look at anywhere but the other person.

These amusing glances continued for the rest of the ride, from Houtarou and Eru to Satoshi and Mayaka.

It was like watching two predators trying to capture the other as prey.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I AM SOOOO SORRY FOR THE DELAY... I've been so busy! Plus Writer's Block! :(

Response to the concerns I got from you all: No, I'm probably not going to abandon this fic, especially because of all the support it got. Believe it or not, the motivation to continue something comes from support. So now that I have it... I definitely won't quit. But, reviews are probably going to be every two/three week - like HELL I have time to write chapters during school days. (3 APs including Chem can do that to you, peeps)

**HUGE special thanks to: ALL MY REVIEWERS AND FOLLOWERS AND FAVORITERS! :-)**

Yes, this is totally 3000+ words, YES, there is SatoMaya goodness, and YYEEESSS, I totally enjoy putting my characters in dark enclosed spaces. You're welcome.

* * *

**deductive attractions  
.x.**  
_stage one-two._

* * *

It had been around one in the afternoon when the Classics Club gang reached the Sayuri Apple Farms, which accounted for a long, one-hour drive that put Houtarou out cold.

"Oreki-san?"

Eru hesitantly reached out a hand and tried to to shake him awake to no avail.

Satoshi and Mayaka stood outside of the truck beside her, with the former looking amused and the latter just plain annoyed. "Look's like that dunce is at it again..." Mayaka remarked in disgust.

"It's hot out here, too," Satoshi commented, taking in the scorching heat of the atmosphere. It made sense, seeing how it was nearing summer and a farm ideally needed a lot of sunlight, but it was definitely overkill for him.

"Just leave him," Mayaka decided, shaking her head at Eru's failing attempts to awaken the brunette boy. "He can come find us when he feels like it."

"He must not have gotten sleep last night... why else would he fall asleep this early in the day?" Eru wondered.

"You should know better by now, Chi-chan. It's _Oreki_." Mayaka's eyes narrowed at the last part like it left a bad taste in her mouth.

Eru didn't seem convinced, just tilted her head, obviously still curious.

Satoshi seemed to strike an idea as his eyes lit up, then grinned as he stepped next to Eru. "I know how you can wake him up."

As Satoshi had predicted, Eru lit up at the promise. "How!?" she immediately asked.

"What are you up to...?" Mayaka mumbled, but it went unnoticed among the other otherwise engaged duo.

"Say: Houtarou-_kuuuun_, please wake up!"

A silence commenced.

Mayaka delivered a punch to his arm. "You are so retarded."

"What?!" Satoshi laughed and rubbed the spot. "I bet it would work."

Eru seemed to catch on to the implication and averted their gazes to hide her embarrassment. "Maybe we should just leave him alone..."

Satoshi just grinned. "Even better."

While Eru walked ahead to the counter to check in, Mayaka exchanged an amused look with Satoshi. "You're planning something, aren't you?"

"As always."

&.

Houtarou's eyes slowly blinked open, and he immediately realized that was not his normal ceiling.

Snapping himself out of the daze, he sat upright and examined his surroundings. It did not look like his bedroom, nor was it big enough to be anyone else's bedroom(thank God). He looked down at the leather seats and it clicked in his head - he had fallen asleep inside of the truck.

Why had they just left them there?

Houtarou mulled over this and grumbled as he removed his seatbelt and hopped out the backside of the truck.

"Oi, finally awake?" called a voice from the front. The truck driver offered a coy smirk which Houtarou did not return. "In any case, I'll meet you and your friends here back at seven. Have fun!"

With a jingle of his keys, the truck driver was off, and Houtarou now had to seek out his friends on his own. What time was it, anyway?

A click of the home button on his cellphone told him it was two forty-five in the afternoon. Just wonderful.

He made his way up to the closest building, striding inside to a nice, air-conditioned atmosphere. The coolness woke him up and he shook his head as he walked up to the receptionist.

"How may I help you?"

"I'm here under the name of _Fukube_ for a two hour session..."

The woman typed away at her keyboard and nodded, gesturing to the door out back. "Your friends said to direct you towards the food court."

Houtarou nodded, face contorting slightly into a frown as he entered the back door. He had been asleep for more than two hours, how could they work out the timing so they would have lunch right when Houtarou awoke?

Mysteries on top of mysteries, Houtarou could tell _something_ was going on here - but he had no idea what.

He stumbled into into a large food court complex and scanned the area for his friends. Surprisingly, the people here weren't _all _old lovey-dovey couples deciding on an old-fashioned apple-picking - it was actually pretty diverse, families and friends of all ages alike.

His eyes were drawn immediately to a girl standing by the ice cream counter. He couldn't see her face because her back was turned to him, but her long black hair was swaying in the slight breeze - and he found himself drawn.

Subconciously, he made his way torwards her in a daze, weaving in and out of all the people in the crowded atmosphere.

"Ano... I'd like the green tea flavor, please!" she said, grinning.

Houtarou cut in line to stand beside her like it was nobody's business.

"That'll be two hundred," the lady behind the counter said, holding a green tea ice cream cone out.

"I'll take care of it."

Before Houtarou even knew what he was doing - he reached for the bill inside his wallet and slammed it down on the counter, surprising the vendor and the long-haired girl.

"O-Oreki-san?" An unmistakably familiar face turned around, her large purple eyes blinking in confusion.

Houtarou suddenly flinched like he was just thrust back into reality, and blinked himself at the confusing looks he had gotten.

_Why... did I just do that? Am I going insane?_

"It's fine," he said, regaining some of his demeanor back. Ignoring the confusing thoughts circling inside of his head, he accepted his change casually and let Eru lead them back to the main table.

"Look who finally showed up," Mayaka commented with faux enthusiasm.

"And with ice cream!" Satoshi brightened at the other two's presence and offered a grin.

Eru smiled, and Houtarou got a foreboding feeling._  
_

_Eru, don't say it!_

"Oreki-san bought it for me!"

The other two sitting down blinked.

Satoshi got a taunting grin and opened his mouth to speak, but Mayaka beat him to it. "Favoritism, much?"

Houtarou just gave her a blank look. "Why would I buy _you_ ice cream?"

"Touche."

Houtarou sighed and sat down with the black-haired girl, once again at war in his mind. Why had he recognized Eru so easily and then subconciously even paying for her? Or was that even subconcious? Did he do it because he _wanted_ to? He was just being nice, right?

Satoshi, of course, knew better. He pretended to be engaged in his apple pie, but out of the corner of his eye he studied the other duo very closely. They seemed somewhat awkward around each other - well actually, that was just Houtarou. Maybe he was questioning his feelings for the girl?

_Excellent_, he thought.

"So, you guys wanna start?" Satoshi asked as he swallowed the last piece of apple goodness.

Mayaka finished her apple milkshake. "Yeah, our hour's about to start. Wouldn't wanna miss it!"

The gang threw their respective trash away and begin the walk to the hay truck rides, which was a bit of a walk considering that the distance as a near half-mile.

"So what should we do after the apple picking?" asked Mayaka, swinging her arms nonchalantly as she walked.

Houtarou sighed. "We could, I don't know, go home."

Mayaka shot a glare. "No one asked you, Slug."

"Given, Dwarf."

Mayaka responded with a kick to the shin which seemed to effectively silence him.

Eru gazed skyward thoughtfully. "You guys could just come to my place, and we could make apple-based foods or something."

"That sounds great, Chitanda!" Satoshi grinned and shot a thumbs up.

"If you think I'm actually going..." Houtarou purposefully trailed off and looked to the side, feeling the laziness overwhelm him already at the thought of being social _after_ an entire afternoon of being social.

"It's at Chitanda's house..." Satoshi said, lips quirking slightly upward in what seemed to be a coy grin.

"And?" Houtarou raised an eyebrow, daring him to continue.

Satoshi chuckled. His best friend sure was good at spotting a trap when it was there. "It just wouldn't be any fun without you, is all."

Houtarou went to argue, but realized he had no choice. Satoshi's arrangements were their ride home and if he refused, and he knew Satosh well enough to know that he wouldn't be getting off that easy, anyhow.

But somehow, something about all of this was beginning to unnerve Houtarou, and it was going to be the bane of his existence trying to find out what.

Suddenly, a woman sprung out in front of them, blocking their path. With a huge microphone poised over her mouth, it rung, "Come one, come all! A real live tunnel simulation built of our very own! A sure way to enjoy a great adventure, for sure!"

The teens shrank back from the noise pounding in their ears, but that didn't seem to stop the woman. Her bright copper eyes seem to lock onto them as her ruby red lips rose in an almost foreboding grin. "Well, aren't you a lovely bunch!"

Mayaka glared, and the others just seemed confused.

"Would you like to give it a try?" She smiled almost knowingly at the brunette.

Mayaka responded easily, "Thanks, but no thanks. Our session starts in a mere fifteen minutes."

The woman gripped the advertisement in her hands tighter. "Perfect! The tunnel leads you right there."

Mayaka huffed, knowing she had lost. "Come on, guys. Let's go check it out."

Satoshi and Eru complied immediately, following Mayaka who was now defiantly making her way into the front cabins, before they realized Houtarou was missing.

"Hotarou?" Eru and Satoshi looked back to see a mourning Houtarou with his head in his hands.

"I don't _want_ to..."

Eru and Satoshi both took an arm and hauled him forward before Mayaka would inevitably release her wrath upon all of them.

&.

_We have been taking one too many detours._

Houtaru frowned once they arrived at the tunnel simulation - which was really quite random, why build a contraption like this at an _apple_ farm? - which had a large, dark hole as the entrance.

Mayaka's hotheadedness had gotten them into this one - unfortunately for them, her pride was more valuable than their time.

"We'll get there faster," Mayaka said brightly, an obvious attempt to deter the gloomy looks she was getting.

"I don't know about this, Maya-chan..." Eru bit her lip as she fidgeted with the end of her dress.

Mayaka frowned. "But we can't ditch, now! That weird lady is still watching us."

Houtarou raised an eyebrow at that, but a discreet glance behind proved that yes, indeed, the woman was still watching them.

_What a creeper. What's her deal, anyway?_

This thought was to fade into the back of his mind as they finally reached the front of the line.

Houtarou froze. "Ladies first."

Chitanda's lips formed a small pout but she complied, climbing into the giant hole in the wall with some difficulty. There was a small yelp heard, and she had disappeared.

He gulped. This was going to be just _fantastic..._

Mayaka and Satoshi climbed into the hole beside them, thoughts not that far from Houtarou's themselves.

&.

This was _really_ weird.

It was pitch black, and the tunnel simulation was some sort of maze - you had to feel your way around to know if you had to climb, slide, walk, or crawl.

Mayaka hated it.

"This was such a bad idea..." she grumbled to herself.

Satoshi grunted from behind as he nearly stumbled over Mayaka's foot. "Now you realize it."

Mayaka made an indignant noise from up front. "I didn't have a choice! That woman was playing _the game_."

Satoshi tried his best to hide the amused chuckle that arose. "And dare I ask, what game?"

"Just... _the game._ It's a lady thing. You wouldn't understand."

"Apparently yes, pride is something even I couldn't understand."

"_Exactly._" Mayaka stopped to whirl around, emphasizing her point, but unfortunately just bumped into the blinded Satoshi.

"Ouch!"

Mayaka winced. "Sorry. I'll keep walking."

The top wall was beginning to get lower and lower, and they had to duck to keep walking. "Mayaka, I think we need to start walking again."

They were on their knees and hands again, knocking sounds emanating from the rough wood.

"How long is this damn thing?!" Mayaka complained, her knuckles starting to get sore from hitting the floor each time she needed to move.

"Long," Satoshi responded helpfully.

She bumped into what seemed like another block of wood, and realized she would have to climb up to get to the next platform. "Whoever built this was definitely taking Satan's advice."

She frowned in the dark, her hands fumbling around to perceive her surroundings, only there wasn't an opening.

Soon enough, Satoshi caught up to her and climbed up onto the platform, squishing Mayaka further into the already very enclosed space.

"What are you doing?" asked Satoshi.

Mayaka begin to panic. "I... I can't find an opening!"

"What!?"

Satoshi felt around as well, but alarmed to find out that he couldn't find the next opening either.

"Oh my god!" Mayaka, frightened, backed up against the wall as much as she could and begin hyperventilating. "I'm claustrophobic!"

Satoshi just looked at her disbelievingly even though they were in the dark. "Then why did you agree to go on this thing?"

"Because I lost _the game_, okay!?"

"The game of your pride?"

"No!" A sigh was heard. "Just... I'm freaking out, okay!?"

Suddenly, it was quiet. It was dark and silent and the suddenly, Mayaka could hear fast-paced breathing and an accelerating heart - except it wasn't hers. Wait, if it wasn't hers, then why - ?

"Satoshi?"

Satoshi steeled himself as he gripped his sides tightly. "I'm claustrophobic too."

Another moment of silence.

"That works out perfectly," she mused in exasperation.

She wiped away the perspiration that was beginning to form in disgust and haste, and it did nothing to calm her nerves. How could she be calm when her one trusted figure was not calm himself?

Feeling tears form in her eyes at the panic arising in her, she hastily shook her head and wiped them away. No, she couldn't breakdown for something as stupid as this. Surely someone would find them, and everything would be okay. Or everyone would forget about them, and -

"Mayaka, calm down."

Her thoughts froze in place at the sound of his voice.

Satoshi shifted into a more comfortable position before taking a few breaths to compose himself. "In times like this, our panic will always override our logic. We just need to get our minds off of this for a second and talk."

Appalled at this new behavior, Mayaka could only nod dumbly before realizing the other boy couldn't see it. "Okay."

She sat down and stretched her legs out, sitting in a pose so that her shoulders were ever so slightly brushing his.

"So... what do you want to talk about?" Mayaka asked as nonchalantly as possible.

Unbelievably enough, Satoshi laughed.

"This is no time to be laughing!" Mayaka cried in annoyance, elbowing him in the shoulder.

"You never manage to _not_ make me laugh, Maya-chan."

Mayaka couldn't see, but she knew enough to know that right then Satoshi was grinning and that that _definitely_ wasn't a compliment.

"Screw you."

The laughing persisted for a few moments more before the pair settled in a somewhat awkward silence. The information that they were alone together in a proximate position finally settled in, and for some reason the temperature got hotter and hotter.

Then, Satoshi broke it with something surprisingly sweet. "Tell me your wish."

Mayaka's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, as if trying to decipher something. "My wish?"

"Yes."

Mayaka shifted uncomfortably in the silence the followed. The air was tense with another emotion - one that gave her a funny feeling in the put of her stomach. Only one thing came to mind when the word _wish_ was mentioned, and that was Satoshi -

"It's a secret."

Satoshi nearly groaned at the let-down in the anticipation. "Come, on... please? I want to know, just this once."

Mayaka pursed her lips as if hesitating, but decided to screw it because honesty was always her forte anyway.

"I just want to be content."

Satoshi, perturbed, turned to face her even though he couldn't see her. "Elaborate?"

"I guess..." Mayaka took a moment to release a shaky sigh before she continued. "It's always hard in life when you're... you're chasing after something that's pointless and you can't have, so I just want to be content and free of the chains shackling me to longing. I'm getting better at it, though."

Something in Mayaka's voice was utterly broken and Satoshi didn't like it at all.

Suddenly, Satoshi felt something in his mind click. _Am I...?_

"You can't be talking about me," Satoshi felt himself blurt instantly. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than her. She was igniting a familiar sense of guilt in him, but this time it was _strong_ and it _hurt_ like tsunami waves crashing over his heart.

Mayaka felt something in her heart sink. She immediately responded, "Ha! Stop being stupid, Fuku-chan. I... I got over that forever ago."

The sinking feeling wasn't just with Mayaka, however. Something was sinking and he was pretty sure Mayaka was lying because, well, she was always a bad liar but then _why did it hurt?_

Satoshi didn't know where he was going with this, but screw it, they were alone and in the dark and terrified. If now was the time to get something out, then... "You want to know my wish?"

Mayaka didn't catch on to the foreshadowing tone in the other brunette's voice. "Sure, why not?" she said tiredly. She was already feeling disappointed from earlier, and she didn't really feel like talking. As if she needed _another_ reminder for her awful, unrequited -

"It's a secret."

Mayaka caught on to the mimicking and groaned before elbowing him. "Hey, don't be like that! I told you, didn't I?"

He offered a small chuckle, and the silence resumed but this time it was heavy and meaningful as the previous words hung in the air.

"It's..."

Satoshi reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly in his.

Mayaka stifled a gasp and felt her alarmed eyes shoot up to his, and she almost felt like she could _meet_ those brunette eyes in the dark.

"It's for you to like me again."


End file.
